Eternal Nights

by Patti O'Shea

  With a groan of frustration, Stacey pushed aside the blankets and got up. She wasn’t going to sleep, not before the transport left Jarved Nine. The clothes she’d worn earlier were on a nearby chair, and she pulled them on. Maybe she’d talk to Alex, have it out with him. Meet the enemy on your terms, wasn’t that what he always said? It was time to put his advice to work.

  But as she strode into the darkened gathering chamber, her uneasiness surged into outright terror. She was trying to figure out why when she heard Cam call, “Mommy!” He must have had a nightmare; he sounded frightened.

  “No! Mommy!”

  Stacey hesitated. Where was Ravyn?

  “Mommy!” Cam sounded mad, and Stacey almost laughed. She’d better see what had him up in the middle of the night.

  She was past the first door to Ravyn and Damon’s suite when she heard a sob from the sitting room. Reversing her steps, she walked inside, and stopped short.

  A man dressed in dark clothing held a struggling, almost-hysterical Cam. The boy was alternating between trying to fight the thug and trying to get away from him. Cam saw her then, and went still. “Mommy!” he shrieked, pointing.

  For the first time, Stacey saw the body. Ravyn was lying on her stomach. Please, God, don’t let her be dead!

  She had to do something. She had to rescue Cam.

  Stacey rushed the guy restraining the little boy, but she was grabbed from behind before she took more than a few steps.

  Fighting with all her strength, Stacey tried to get free, tried to put into practice the different defensive moves Alex had taught her, but she was no match for the jerk. Then Cam’s crying stopped with a suddenness that made her freeze.

  “Here’s the deal, lady. You behave, the kid remains healthy. You kick up a fuss, and he gets hurt. Simple enough?” the guy pinning her arms behind her back asked.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Good. You stay quiet and cooperative, and everything will be fine. We’ll do what we came here for, then get out.”

  “Uncover his face,” Stacey said, nodding toward the man who had one big hand blocking Cam’s nose and mouth. “I’ll cooperate if you stop smothering him.”

  “He’s making too much noise,” the thug holding the boy said.

  “Cam, sweetie, you need to stay quiet, okay?” The word he said was muffled, but Stacey understood. “We’ll check on your mommy soon, but can you be quiet for me?”

  He nodded the best he was able.

  “Now take your hand off his face,” she told the guy.

  The man lowered his arm slowly, ready to cover Cam’s mouth again in an instant if he cried. The boy, though, kept his promise. With her godson able to breathe again, Stacey moved on to her next worry—getting them out of here alive. She didn’t care what these men said; she and Cam had seen their faces, and there was no way on earth they were letting them live. Where could the thieves hide? J Nine had only a small contingent of people, and everyone was confined within the walls of the city. Once she identified them, they’d be arrested immediately.

  No, she and Cam were a vulnerability these men couldn’t afford, and they’d already proven they weren’t averse to violence. Her eyes strayed to her friend’s procumbent form. Stacey refused to believe Ravyn was dead; she couldn’t be. That meant she had two helpless people to rescue tonight. The question was how.

  “You hang on to the brat,” thug number one said, thrusting Cam at her. She read the heat in the boy’s eyes and quickly made a shushing noise to calm him. She needed Cam to stay quiet. If they became too much trouble, the creeps would either kill them right away, knock them out, or tie them up, and none of those scenarios were helpful.

  “Watch those two while I get to work,” the first man told the other one.

  The second guy complained, but Stacey ignored it. Cam had started crying, big tears silently running down his face, and she was busy trying to soothe him before he became louder.

  “Find something to tie them up with then if you don’t want to keep an eye on them.” And the first thug left. Stacey saw him enter the bedroom, and turned her head slightly to look at their captor. He was smaller than the first guy, but she knew firsthand how strong and quick he was.

  What were her options? Think! she exhorted herself when nothing came to mind.

  She couldn’t take on both men by herself. Handling one was probably beyond her. How could they get help? There was a comm unit in the house, tucked in one of the rooms off the main gathering chamber, but at night there was only a ten-to-fifteen-percent chance it would actually work.

  Stacey didn’t like those odds.

  Damn it, why did the Old City have to mess with all their electronic equipment? Cam snuggled his face against her throat, and she felt the wetness of his tears against her neck. She stroked his scalp gently and wished she could cry herself.

  The royal residence sat on the busiest square in the city, but at this time of the night, chances were good that there wouldn’t be anyone outside for her to flag down. She didn’t think she could get away from the thief, and even if she did, he’d catch her before she could find help. Then there was Cam. He was trusting her to get him and his mom out of this mess. How could she leave him?

  “Great,” thug two muttered. “I’m baby-sitting a woman and a kid.” Stacey stayed silent, unsure what to say. “Come on.” He gave her a push. “I want you farther away from the door.”

  Since it was in her best interest to comply, Stacey followed orders. What would Alex do in this situation? But as soon as she asked the question, she knew she couldn’t hope to emulate him. Knowing Sullivan, he probably would have realized there was trouble and entered the room covertly, taking out both men before they even realized he was there. Unfortunately, not only was it too late to sneak in, she didn’t have his training or strength.

  So the question was what did Stacey Johnson, pregnant woman with minimal self-defense skills, do in this situation?

  Her answer—wait for Alex to come to the rescue—didn’t work. He was furious, and he was hurt. If he showed up at all, it would be in the morning, and that would be too late.

  She forced herself to face a few hard truths. She couldn’t get them all out of this. Stacey blinked hard to keep from crying. She might be able to save Cam, but she couldn’t save Ravyn too. The idea of sacrificing her best friend left her feeling as if someone had driven a stake through her heart, but Stacey knew Ravyn would want her to get Cam out of here.

  If she ran, the jerk would chase her. Stacey realized it was unlikely she’d get far, but that wasn’t the aim—the purpose was to ensure Cam had a few seconds to run in another direction and find somewhere to hide. These men couldn’t afford to waste time looking for him, not for more than a few minutes, and he’d be safe. It wasn’t a great scheme, but she was desperate and it was all she had.

  She shifted the boy, and the creep glared at her. “Sorry,” she apologized, “he’s heavy.”

  The man grunted. She waited a couple more minutes, then switched Cam to her other arm. Lifting his head, the boy looked at her, and Stacey kissed his chubby cheek. He lowered his face again, snuggling against her, and she knew he was trusting her, relying on her to take care of him.

  From the bedroom, she heard a loud thud and a curse. The second guy tensed. “What’s going on?” he called.

  “These sons of bitches don’t want to come down. It’s like they’re fastened in somehow, but I don’t see an anchor.”

  When he moved toward the bedroom door to offer advice to his partner in crime, Stacey lowered her mouth next to Cam’s ear and murmured, “We’re going to play hide and seek. I’ll hide first, and when the bad man runs after me, then you run and hide and be as quiet as you can, okay?” She cast a glance at the thief, but he was still talking to the other man. “Don’t come out until I come for you, got it?”

  Bless him, Cam was wise enough to keep his voice soft. “Mommy?” he asked, and looked over his shoulder at Ravyn.

  Stacey wasn�
��t sure what to say. There was nothing either of them could do to get Ravyn out of here. The first man cursed again, and Stacey said, “You know your mommy would want you to listen to me.” Cam nodded. “Then you’ll do as I say, right?”

  There was a hesitation, then Cam nodded again reluctantly. She switched him to her other arm and the thug looked back at her. “Shit, put him down already,” he groused.

  That was just the invitation Stacey was waiting for. Slowly, she lowered Cam to the ground. He clung to her, and she gently put him from her and gazed into his solemn eyes. “Remember, hide and seek,” she whispered. When he released her, she straightened, and prepared to take action.

  Another thud came. Her guard was only half in the bedroom, and distracted. There wouldn’t be a better time.

  Stacey bolted for the door.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Alex swept his gaze over Ravyn’s home, instinct warring with intellect. One side of him wanted to charge in and protect the people he loved. Years of training, though, insisted that he reconnoiter first, that rushing in blindly was stupid. Before he could make a choice, Brody rounded the corner at a full-out run.

  Quickly, he moved to intercept his brother-in-law. The man heard him and whirled, pistol drawn. Alex froze in place and held both hands up, but it only took a second for Brody to ID him and stand down. Lowering his arms, Alex closed the distance.

  “There’s trouble,” Brody said. His voice was tight, and he almost hummed with barely contained adrenaline. “Let’s go.”

  Alex grabbed Damon’s arm to keep him from racing inside. “We have to play this smart or we risk everyone. You know that.”

  Brody cursed a word he rarely used, but Alex saw him struggle to take it down a notch. “My family’s in there.”

  “So’s mine,” he countered. “What’s going on? Do you know?” Alex might have an empathic connection with Ravyn—one that had been eerily quiet for some time now—but she shared something more with Damon, and he wanted to know what Brody knew.

  “I haven’t been able to hear Ravyn for a while. Too long. Something’s happened to her.”

  The fear in his brother-in-law’s eyes worried Alex. Damon didn’t frighten easily. “Even more reason to play it smart,” he said, but he wanted to get inside as badly as Brody did. “Did Ravyn tell you anything before the link was severed?”

  “All she said was men, then she went silent. I don’t know how many. She was scared, though, I felt that plainly.”

  So had Alex. “I sent for backup.”

  “I’m not waiting for them to show,” Brody said, pulling free of Alex’s grip.

  “Neither am I, but we’ll go in there as a team. I don’t need you acting like some cowboy, understood?”

  “I got it.” And when Brody looked at him, Alex noticed his brother-in-law had his control back. Good.

  They entered the house slowly and cautiously. Both of them were ex-Special Forces, and the training allowed them to operate smoothly although they’d never worked a mission together.

  The main gathering chamber was empty, but the lights blazed. That wasn’t normal for this time of night; Alex exchanged a glance with Brody. Through the archway was the hallway that led to the bedrooms, and to the private suite that his sister and her husband used. They’d need to go down the corridor, however, chamber by chamber; it was too risky to do anything else.

  Before Alex could gesture, a child started to wail.

  His heart stopped, only to restart in double time. Alex lunged, and caught Damon before he could rush down the hall. “Damn it, Brody, you’re more experienced than this.”

  “That’s Cam. He doesn’t cry like that.”

  “You’re not going to help him if you go off half-cocked. You know that.” Alex didn’t know how he managed to keep his voice even; he was every bit as tense as his brother-in-law.

  When the crying stopped abruptly, Alex firmed his grip. Damon’s muscles tensed, but he didn’t try to break loose. “If anything happens to Ravyn or Cam, I’m killing those bastards.”

  Brody was deadly serious, and Alex nodded. “If anything happens,” he said, “I’ll help you.”

  They were at the far end of the room from the corridor. They needed to figure out where Stacey, Ravyn and Cam were located and how many bogeys they had to deal with.

  The crying started again, louder and more frantic, derailing his plans. A man shouted. There were the sounds of what could only be a scuffle. Shit, all hell was breaking loose. He didn’t even try to hold back Damon this time.

  They had the archway covered from two different angles when Stacey appeared. She didn’t make it far; an arm went around her throat and held her in place.

  Alex had to dig deep to find his self-command. The rage was rocketing through him, demanding he take action. Demanding he hurt the bastard hurting Stacey.

  The man had a pistol to her head, and Alex flexed his hand around the butt of his own weapon. Seeing her in danger brought his instinctive need to defend to the fore, but it also returned his control as easily as flipping a switch.

  “Drop your weapons,” the man ordered.

  Alex ignored the demand, and kept his pistol trained on the intruder’s head.

  “I’ll shoot her,” the smuggler threatened.

  “The hell you will.” Alex’s voice came out as cold as winter. “You do, you’ll be dead a second later. Bank on it.”

  Standoff.

  The son of a bitch tightened his hold on Stacey’s neck. He looked edgy, and that wasn’t good. Alex couldn’t charge forward—it was too easy to squeeze the trigger in reflex if not on purpose. If anything happened to Stace—

  Her eyes met his. She was tense, afraid, but there was also faith there. Despite everything, she trusted him to get her out of this. And he would, no matter what it took.

  He began drawing power from the planet and reached out for Stacey. Although they hadn’t done this in three years, not since Ravyn and Damon had faced the alien, she helped him blend the energy and create a protective field. Once he had her wrapped in it, he allowed it to flow around him and Brody as well.

  Even though Stacey wouldn’t be hurt now, he had no clue where Ravyn or Cam were, and he couldn’t risk rushing the guy. He’d have to negotiate instead. Alex took a deep breath. Trying to sound nonthreatening, he said, “Let’s talk about this.”

  “Shut up!” The asshole’s eyes were frantic, wild, and Alex felt his heart jump into his throat.

  “Why don’t you use me as your hostage?” he offered.

  “Alex—” Stacey began, but the thief choked her, cutting off the protest.

  “I said be quiet!”

  He ignored that. “I’m a better choice. The army would protect a lieutenant colonel; they’ll agree to whatever you want to keep me healthy.”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” the man asked.

  The answer was yes, but Alex didn’t say it. Only an idiot would believe there was a way out of this situation. Jarved Nine had no place to disappear, and the son of a bitch was only making things worse for himself by taking a hostage.

  There was another shout from down the corridor, and Alex tensed. This wasn’t good.

  The man holding Stacey twisted, pulling her with him as he sidled into the room, his back against the wall.

  “No!” Stacey cried. “Cam!”

  Cam was being chased by another man. Alex tried to direct the protective energy field around the boy, but no matter how hard he and Stacey worked, it wouldn’t enfold him.

  Brody rushed forward, and Alex was only a split second behind. The bastard grabbed Cam when he reached the archway, and the boy kicked at him. As Alex watched, the asshole lifted the struggling child, and he didn’t do it gently.

  Shit, they weren’t going to be in time. Damon couldn’t get to his son quickly enough, and Alex couldn’t help both Stace and his nephew. If Brody would head for Stacey... But a glance told Alex that Damon was focused only on Cam.

  There was no choice. The bo
y was helpless, and in immediate danger. Stacey was protected.

  He ran to his nephew’s aid and prayed.

  *** *** ***

  Kendall paced around the living room of the house Wyatt’s team shared. The men had left to back up Sullivan, but she and Wyatt had remained behind.

  It was the first time she’d ever seen the team in action, and they’d deployed fast. Incredibly fast. It was also the first time she’d really seen Wyatt in his role as their leader, and he’d amazed her too. Wy hadn’t been his usual easygoing self, but someone much more intense.

  Maybe she’d seen some of this in the temple—after all, he had killed those men—but he’d morphed back into her friend so quickly that she hadn’t given it much thought. But now, well, there was nothing to do but think.

  “Bug, you want to sit down? You’re walking in front of those dang windows over and over and it’s making me nuts.”

  Reluctantly, she plopped onto the sofa. “Do you think the smugglers will try for the obelisks, or do you think they decided to call it off since they’ve lost so many men?”

  “I don’t know.” Wyatt sat beside her on the couch, not too closely, but near enough. “It hinges on how brazen they are.”

  “What do you think’s happening at the house?”

  He leaned back, slouching in his seat, but despite his position, she could feel how alert he was. “It depends on the situation they find. Best course of action is to get the civilians clear, then lie in wait for the thieves.”

  “Assuming they haven’t been there already.”

  “Yeah, assuming that.”

  She leaned back too. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with me,” she apologized softly. “I know you’d rather be with your team backing up Sullivan.”

  “Nothing is more important than keeping you safe.” He was silent for a moment. “You’re not being distant and formal with me anymore. Does this mean we’re friends again?”

  “We’ve always been friends,” Kendall told him.

  Wyatt sighed. “You know what I’m asking.”

  Yes, she did. Grudgingly, unwillingly, she said, “I’m sorry I accused you of confusing me with Zolianna. It isn’t true, I know that. I just needed time to remember.”